Holland, Richardson in Aussie squad for South Africa series

Melbourne, Jan 22 (AP) - Australia selectors have recalled Jon Holland and added Jhye Richardson to expand the squad which won the Ashes for the upcoming four-test tour to South Africa.Steve Smith's Australians beat England 4-0 in the five-test series to regain the Ashes and have stuck with the winning formula with a few additions in the 15-man squad.Cameron Bancroft was retained as an opening partner for vice-captain David Warner, again at the expense of Matt Renshaw.Peter Handscomb, who lost his place in the starting XI when allrounder Mitch Marsh was recalled during the Ashes, is again the backup batsman.The bowling attack, which featured Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and off-spinner Nathan Lyon, will have Jackson Bird, left-arm orthodox spinner Holland and paceman Richardson as backup.Australia selector Trevor Hohn said Holland, who has played two tests, deserved a place as the second-leading wicket taker in the Sheffield Shield domestic first-class competition last season and Richardson was had been impressive during his chances in the one-day format"We envisage the wickets we will see in South Africa will not warrant the need to play two spinners," Hohn said in a statement Monday. "Therefore, should (Lyon) not be able to play at any stage, we wanted to have the best specialist spinner available to us and based on current red-ball form Jon warrants that spot."The test squad leaves for South Africa on Feb. 15 with the exception of Warner, who will lead the Australian Twenty20 squad which will be involved in a tri-series against New Zealand and England. The test series in South Africa starts March 1 in Durban."The South Africa series is a very important one and we have made no secret of our desire to improve our re-cord away from home," Hohn said.Australia test squad: Steve Smith (captain), David Warner, Cameron Bancroft, Jackson Bird, Pat Cummins, Pe-ter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Jon Holland, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine, Jhye Richardson, Mitch Starc.